Banks may win access to voter list

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Australia's banks are on the verge of winning an exemption from a new law banning sales of the national electoral roll.

The law banning access to the electoral roll was passed four months ago, and was introduced to prevent companies and charities using the roll to send junk mail and compile databases.

But after intense lobbying by the Australian Bankers Association, The Age believes the Howard Government plans to regulate to give banks special access to the roll.

The ABA refused to outline their case yesterday, but banks have used the roll in the past to verify identities and addresses.

Under the regulation, banks would join public health officials and medical researchers as the only exemptions to the law. But the Senate has the power to quash the regulation, which the Government is tipped to table within weeks.

A civil liberties group last night criticised the move, saying it could open a Pandora's box of claims to private information about voters.

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A spokesman for Special Minister of State Eric Abetz confirmed the issue was "close to resolution" yesterday. "The minister has met with the banks and we are aware of the issues," he said. "We're in the process of resolving them."

The push to ban sales of the electoral roll was spearheaded by the Electoral Commission, with unanimous backing from Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.

Supporting the ban in a report last year, the MPs said they feared some Australians might not enrol to vote if the roll was used for commercial purposes. But the Government has since encountered a tough lobbying campaign by the ABA.

It is believed the Government's first attempt to help the banks was rejected for technical reasons by the Executive Council of senior Ministers. The regulation is now being redrafted.

But the Government may face a further hitch because the Electoral Act now bans sales of the roll. Acts of Parliament override any contradictory regulations.

Democrats electoral matters spokesman Andrew Murray said if the banks were given special exemption, others could also make similar arguments. "On the face of it, I just can't see there's a strong enough argument," he said yesterday.

Labor said it would consider the issue after it had seen the regulation.

Liberty Victoria president Greg Connellan said the move would set a precedent for other claims. "Because banks have other commercial arms these days, giving an exemption to the banks effectively means giving a much broader exemption," he said. "And at a time when the Government says it needs to breach our civil liberties to ensure national security, it is willing to sell or hand over to other institutions information that enables people . . . to set up false identities."